


Lessons

by caz251



Series: DragQueen!Snape Verse [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 16:06:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 23,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/624016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caz251/pseuds/caz251
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Severus Snape's secret life has been unveiled and he has agreed to give lessons to the one who found his secret, Harry Potter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lesson Plans

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Harry Potter.

They met again in the bookstore turned cafe, neither in a form that would be recognisable to the majority of the wizarding world. Harry was once again under glamour, the same one he had used when he’d met Snape in the club, Severus was dressed as his alter ego Serena, wearing a black knee-length skirt and a silver corset style top. It was about a month after their previous meeting and the school year was once again in session and ‘Serena’ had cut her days at Cabaret Club back to once a week as he had classes to teach.

It was currently a Saturday afternoon and they had met to discuss and arrange Harry’s lessons, Harry made small talk for a while before Severus got impatient asking him what exactly he wanted to learn. Whether he just wanted to learn how to dress as a woman, act like a woman or sing and speak like a woman.

Harry hadn’t actually thought about what it was that he wanted to learn, that was not the purpose of his lessons, in his eyes anyway, what he wanted to learn was whether or not he was attracted to Snape or if he was now attracted to women. When he had first seen ‘Serena’ she had held no interest for him, which had changed when he found out that ‘Serena’ was in reality Severus. He was now unsure as to whether or not he was just attracted to Severus Snape or if he now liked women. Harry had decided to use the lessons as a means to get close to Severus and find out more about him, in an attempt to figure out his dilemma, so when posed with what he wanted to learn he just smiled, whilst thinking what the best combination would be.

“Everything.” He replied softly, “I want to learn everything, you can teach me.” He had decided that getting Snape to teach him all he knew about being a woman would take a while and give him more time to study the man in front of him.

Severus just nodded before giving Harry a piece of paper with an address on it, they couldn’t meet at Harry’s in case some of his friends dropped by, and Hogwarts was definitely out of the question. He told him to meet him there at nine the next morning before he stood up to leave. Harry stood quickly, thanking ‘Serena’ before walking her to the door and kissing ‘her’ hand goodbye, only to receive a raised eyebrow in return.


	2. A Lesson on Grooming

Arriving at the address Severus had given him at nine the next morning Harry couldn’t help but feel nervous, this wasn’t something that he would usually be doing, it’s not every day that a man decides that he wants to learn how to be a woman after all. Harry waited outside until Severus opened the door, walking in he took in his surroundings, Severus had the penthouse apartment in the block. It was large and spacious and looked nothing like what he would have expected from the man, but somehow it fitted him and his personality.

Instead of dark black, green and silver, he was greeted by the sight of warm caramel chocolate colours and dark wood bookcases and tables. The living room was furnished just as you would expect of a muggle flat, with less mess however, the place looked impeccable, most likely the work of a house elf.

Severus gestured for him to take a seat before sitting down opposite him, he was once again dressed as Serena, this time in a pair of black jean, some killer heels and a blue camisole top. The man looked at Harry noticing his lack of attention to him, and his interest in his surroundings, he decided to explain.

"This is Serena's flat." Severus spoke, "I can't very well entertain at my home as Severus Snape or at Hogwarts, so I bought this place under the name of Serena, it was also useful for a hideout if necessary during the war."

Harry looked up to him, "You entertain?" he asked trying to be polite, but the incredulousness in his tone was hard to hide. "You never seemed like the type to entertain."

Severus snorted, "No. Severus Snape isn't the type who would entertain, Serena Strahinski on the other hand is a socialite in some ways."

Harry just nodded, finding this the hardest to take in of all the things that he had learnt about the man recently. He gave a small smile before speaking, "Okay, so what is my first lesson then?"

Severus just looked him up and down before speaking, "Grooming yourself as a woman."

"Excuse me?" Harry questioned, "I know how to groom myself thank you."

Severus just snorted, "Yourself maybe, not that it shows with your hair, but you don't know how to groom yourself as a woman."  
Harry just glared at him for the comment about his hair but had to concede as both his points were valid. He nodded to him to continue hoping that he would overlook the glare.

"The first thing is body hair, luckily we're wizards, muggle drag queens have to go through torture to groom themselves properly. They use wax and everything." Severus let out a shudder at the idea. "There are spells that will remove body hair, but using the same premise as the wax I created a potion. If you apply this the hair will remove itself, you just apply it wait two minutes then wash it off, the only thing though is that it's permanent unlike the spells which only last two weeks."

Harry just nodded not saying anything as Snape placed the vials of potion of the coffee table between them, he remembered his aunt talking about the pain of waxing and was glad that Severus had come up with a permanent alternative. He tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Severus tell him to keep his nails short and clean and to buy a decent hand cream and a decent moisturiser.

“You also have a choice.” Severus began, “Your hair, you can either grow it out with the use of a potion I’ve made for you, you’d need to find a reason to explain to your friends why you want long hair. Or there is a charm that will lengthen your hair to whatever length you specify, that needs to be reapplied every hour though.”

Harry thought for a moment before deciding that the potion would be the better option, telling Severus this he got a nod in reply. He was then told to follow him, they entered a large bathroom with a sunken tub much like the one in the prefects bathroom. Severus opened a vial before pouring the contents over Harry’s hair, Harry being forced to lean over the sink. He wasn’t sure how the potion would work, they had never been his speciality, he focussed not on how it would grow out his hair but rather the hands that were rubbing the potion through his hair.

Severus’ hands felt amazing, it took all his self-control not to moan at the feeling, and it was over much too quickly. Once Severus removed his hands he could feel the start of the process, his hair seemed to be getting heavier, the extra length providing more weight until his hair reached to his mid-back. Severus pulled out his wand and after asking his preferred length cut Harry’s hair to just below his shoulders. 

The rest of the lesson was focussed on taking care of his hair, a lesson Harry would never have expected to receive from Severus Snape. Harry left a few hours after he arrived, with long hair, a pocket full of hair removal potions and more insight into Severus Snape’s life.


	3. A Lesson Between Lessons

It had been a week since Harry had last seen Severus, he'd done as he was told and had used the hair removal potion, deciding that it was a better course of action than having to remember the spells every two weeks. He had also explained his long hair to Hermione and the Weasleys, using the excuse that he'd thought it would be tamer if it was longer, something that was true and was quite possibly the only reason Mrs Weasley didn't take her wand to it. He had gone straight to the Burrow from 'Serena's' place for Sunday dinner and had faced an inquisition. Mrs Weasley had only finally gave in and allowed them to eat once Harry had convinced her that his hair was not a result of an early midlife crisis.

Bill had pulled him aside after dinner commenting that it was good to see that he was taking his responsibilities as the head of two Ancient and Noble Houses seriously, and was learning what he needed to know about his place in society. Unsure about what Bill was talking about he had told him so, only for Bill to recommend that he read Customs of Nobility. Taking Bill's advice he had stopped by Flourish and Blotts the next day on the way to his bookstore, knowing that it wasn't a book that he stocked. He then spent the rest of his day in his cafe/bookshop reading, he wasn't there to work after all, his employees handled the business well enough without him.

The book was enlightening, and it clarified a number of things he had seen some of the purebloods do but had never understood. He also read the section on customs for the female noble, deciding to try and impress Severus by at least knowing what it was that was expected of a woman in society. He had studied the book on customs religiously for a few days, even going as far as to buy more books on customs specific to women, as well as the ones he would need to get along well in pureblood society. He didn't know why he was going to such effort to learn to be a woman, it wasn't as if he actually wanted to go out as a woman, it was just a way to get close to Snape to get confirmation one way or another.

He realised though that while he had to be close to Snape to figure out if he was lusting after him, or was now attracted to women, that he had enjoyed his lesson the weekend previously. It wasn't as if he suddenly wanted to start wearing heels and make-up all the time, but he had had fun learning more about how to be a woman, and a bit about Snape's alter ego. Learning to look and act like a woman could also be helpful to him, especially if it came as naturally to him as it appeared to have done with Snape. After all the Wizarding public would never be expecting Harry Potter to be going out dressed as a woman.

He had thrown himself into his research at that point, hoping that the more that he knew, the less Severus had to teach him and the more time they could spend getting to know each other. He realised that they did know each other in a way, they had known each other for years, but he had learnt through analysing his thoughts in the last week that he wanted to know everything that there was to know about Severus Snape or Serena Strahinski. He knocked on Serena's door, waiting for Severus to open it and allow him in for his next lesson, he had no idea what the lesson was going to be about, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of nervous anticipation.


	4. A Lesson On War Paint

The door swung open and Harry was greeted by the sight of Severus Snape in the most flimsiest of lingerie he had ever seen, a silk robe hastily tied over it, but not hiding anything really. Believe it or not it was the most shocking thing about the whole situation of Snape dressing as a woman that he had come across so far. It wasn't something that he would have thought Serena would wear, it was more like the wardrobe of Parvati and Lavender, not of a sophisticated woman like Serena portrayed herself to be. What shocked him the most though was that he had only ever seen one other person wear an outfit like it, Ginny when she was trying to seduce him and make him admit to being straight, and that Severus Snape of all people wore it better than she had.

He just stood there staring until Snape's barked 'Potter' jerked him out of his fantasies, the man standing to the side of the door, making it clear that Harry was to come in. Snape directed him to the couch in his 'disobey and your cleaning cauldrons till you graduate' voice, before he headed off in the direction of what Harry could only assume was the bedroom. He sat on the couch in shock at the reaction he had had to Snape dressed as provocatively as he had been, the outfit leaving nothing to the imagination, not that his imagination needed much prompting with just one look at the other man. Harry sighed, trying to bring himself back under control; he knew that he was heading for several derogatory comments from Snape if he couldn't calm his own libido. He knew for sure that the other man would notice, he was a teacher after all, he was used to catching horny miscreants. Harry quickly cast a wandless spell to stop himself from embarrassing himself, making sure that no evidence of his arousal would be noted by the sharp man. His main grievance with the fact that he had been hard because of Snape wasn't that he had been, but rather that he still didn't know if it was because of Snape or if it was women he now liked, or if he just liked the idea of men in women's clothing.

When Severus reappeared a few moments later he was fully dressed, much to Harry's disappointment, in somewhat plain clothes, a long black skirt and a black turtleneck. It was obvious from the outfit that Snape was trying to portray who exactly he was to Harry even dressed as Serena, mainly to intimidate him. Harry smiled at the other man's attempt, but after seeing him so undone and so far from the Bat of the Dungeons Harry didn't think that the man was capable of intimidating him anymore, he may have just become immune.

He turned instead to the man, a smile on his face as he spoke, "So Serena, what are we doing today?" He asked referring to the professor by the name he had adopted for himself, it was easier to think of Severus as Serena when dressed as her just so as to keep Severus and Serena separate so as not to slip up in public. He could just imagine that, calling Snape Serena in the company of the Weasleys or worse Dumbledore.

Severus looked at the young man on his couch, there was no denying it, he couldn't refer to the man as a child, not after all that he had been through. He took in all the changes that he noticed since he had last seen the young man, his hair seemed to have grown very little, but the other man had kept it in good condition. He turned his eyebrow on the other man at his question as if to say, 'what you expect me to tell you'. He had decided that today he was going to push the younger man to see how much he would take before he snapped, opening the door the way he had was just the first part. He had known ever since he had first met up with Harry in that little bookstore, when his ex-student had revealed that he knew all about him, that Potter was attracted to him, and he wanted to see if the other man realised it or not.

The first thing he did was take the seat next to Harry on the couch, raising his hand and running it through the younger man's hair, much to the teens shock. He then spoke, "I suppose it is adequate, continue to treat it in the way I taught you and it should be alright." He then looked the teen up and down before speaking again, "Did you use the potion I gave you?"

He watched as the younger man tried to gather himself; it was amusing to him that the younger wizard was startled by his touch, but then again who wouldn't be. He was the solitary antisocial bat of the dungeons after all, the idea of him touching someone must be a foreign one to all those that he had taught. Harry nodded that he had used the potion and Severus decided to get on with the lesson. He stood abruptly, indicating that Harry should follow him he walked into his bedroom; a room made up of soft blues that made it look feminine but elegant at the same time.

When Harry hesitated in the doorway Severus reached out, grabbing his hand he dragged him into the room, pushing him down onto the seat in front of a large dressing table. An assortment of different perfumes and makeup were laid out for his perusal and use, after to look like a woman he would have to wear make-up, and definitely know how to apply it. Severus looked at the young man who was trying not to stare around the room in interest, then started a speech on the use of make-up gathering the man's attention to himself and holding it there like he had done in his first potions lesson. Severus then pulled a chair from the corner of the room to sit next to Harry, he was going to show him exactly what he had to do, he had left his own make-up off for a reason.

He picked up each brush, pot, tube and sponge on the dresser and explained to his student exactly what it was, the effect that it had and where and how it was applied. He then went on to a practical demonstration, using browns and other neutral colours to blend with his skin and work well with his outfit. He stopped after applying each item of make-up to allow Harry to do the same before continuing on. He had to admit for a first attempt the saviour of the wizarding world wasn't that bad, he would however need some refinement in places, something that Severus would do himself.

"Not too bad, Potter." Severus remarked, "There is just one thing," he stated as he reached forward placing his thumb on Harry's lips he began to rub the lip gloss in a bit. "You used too much gloss. We also need to find the right colours for you."

Harry just nodded dumbly; he could still feel the lingering feeling of Severus thumb against his lips, a feeling that was completely odd. No-one had ever touched his lips like that before and he found that he had liked it, liked Severus touching him in a way that could certainly be considered intimate. He was startled out of his thoughts as Severus's next words pierced his brain, "Take it off." He turned to stare at the other man in shock, only to note that the man was holding out a bottle that was labelled make-up remover and some cotton wool pads. Harry sighed, unsure whether or not he was disappointed that the man had meant his make-up or not, he accepted the pads and the solution and began to remove all traces of the make-up from his face taking extra care with his lips.

Severus watched with a hint of a smirk at the man's reaction to his words, he had never thought how much fun these lessons would actually be, but Potter was now acting like a frightened rabbit and it was intriguing to watch to say the least. "Make sure to remove it all." He instructed as he noticed that Potter was lingering about his lips as if hesitant to remove the gloss there, or maybe the feeling of his touch, whatever it was it was rather amusing.

He waited and watched as he removed all traces of the make-up from his face before he walked to his bedside, picking up a book that he had left there specifically he walked back to the dresser handing it to Harry. "Read it. The first chapter at least before we continue, it shouldn't take too long." He then left the room, going straight to his piano he began to play a warm up piece before he practiced his songs for the following Saturday, it wasn't like he got much time to practice his singing while at Hogwarts after all.

Harry sat in Severus' bedroom trying to read the book when he heard the first sounds from the living room coming from the piano and minutes later the sound of Severus' voice rang out in perfect tandem to the accompaniment that was the piano. He tried to focus on the book, but it was difficult, even when he had been looking for Severus in the Cabaret Club that voice had distracted him, it was amazing how well Severus sang, especially singing as a woman would. He shook himself out of his thoughts; the man was expecting him to read the chapter of the book before they continued their lesson, and there was no way that this was going to be a repeat of their first potions lesson. He was here voluntarily for these lessons; they weren't something that he had no control over. With that in mind he sat back further into the seat and concentrated on the words in front of him.

He couldn't believe what it was that he was actually reading, he quickly checked the cover but that didn't help him by saying that it was a joke, Practical Spellwork For Young Witches. Severus had given him a spell book that most teenage girls used as their bibles taking each and every word written as gospel. He read through the first chapter becoming increasingly annoyed as he did so. He had known that there were spells for these sort of things, he just hadn't known that Snape was aware of them. Why the other man had made him put make-up on the muggle way if he knew these spells he didn't know, but he would find out. He did normally despise relying on his magic for everything, having been raised without it he wasn't as dependent on it as his fellow wizards were, but he didn't see the point in spending so much time learning a skill that could easily be compensated for with learning about seven or so different spells. It was so much easier, and a lot less work. He knew that the Slytherin was a perfectionist, but this was just too far.

He finished the chapter and made his way towards the music, intending to give the elder man a piece of his mind for making him struggle to learn how to apply make-up the muggle way. He was about to speak, or rather start a rant when 'Serena' looked up at him through her lashes, "Have you read about the easy way now?"

There was something in that voice that was daring Harry to complain about having to have learnt the hard way first and Harry just nodded. He may not be intimidated by Snape anymore, but he was enjoying these lessons and he didn't want them to be cancelled because he put his foot in it. "Of course I have, but why did I have to learn the muggle way as well?" He phrased it as a question and not as an angry exclamation so as not to annoy the other man.

Severus looked up at the question a smirk threatening to cross his face, "I would have thought that to be obvious Potter. If you are ever in the company of other women, you sometimes need to be able to apply make-up as a muggle. After all, magic in front of muggles is a crime, you should know weren't you called up in front of the Ministry for that very thing."

Harry scowled, trust Snape to goad him about the past like that. He ignored the jibe as best he could, instead focusing on the lesson once more, asking his teacher what they were doing now.

Severus looked at him, explaining that he would do the exact same as he had done before, apply his make-up, but that this time he would do it the magical way instead of the muggle. He was also instructed to try different shades, they wouldn't find his perfect colours if they didn't try a few after all. Harry looked at the book before setting his face with a determined look, this would be so much easier with magic than it had been the muggle way. He opened the book to the first page he needed and set about applying the make-up to his face, first foundation, then blusher and eye shadow, followed by mascara and lip gloss. He was rather happy with the results of the spells, or at least he was until he looked in the mirror; he looked like a clown.

He had been so sure that with magic that everything would be so much easier and he knew that it should have been, applying make-up the muggle way hadn't been too hard, but with magic and the spells it should have been a piece of cake, but it hadn't been. He knew that Snape was no doubt having a great laugh at how he looked, and he would admit that if it was anyone else but himself that he too would be laughing, but this just seemed unfair. He flipped through the book to the page he wanted, finding the make-up removal charm he cast it on himself then looked in the mirror again to check his face. The make-up was gone, but the memory was definitely still there.

He turned to 'Serena' who was standing just off to the side watching him, no doubt with sadistic pleasure at his failure. "What did I do wrong? That should have been easier." Harry said, confused as to why the charms hadn't worked as they should, Parvati and Lavender had never had any problems with them and he was by far stronger magically than either of those two.

Almost as if he knew exactly what he was thinking Snape chuckled, "The girls that you have known to use these spells have had infinitely more practice than you Mr. Potter. The Patil twins and Miss Brown could probably write essays on the use of these spells and the ways in which they need to be wielded, and an excess of raw power is not what is needed. It is all in how you direct the spell, and that is one of the reasons why I had you learn the muggle way first. You have to direct the spell as you would the muggle make-up brushes."

Harry thought on that for a few minutes, coming to understand exactly where he had gone wrong, he had cast the spells just like he would a shield spell or a bludgeoning hex, to encompass a whole area. The make-up charms however needed more finesse, they needed to be treated delicately, otherwise you could end up looking just like he had; like a muggle clown. He nodded to Snape before telling him that he understood and asking what they were going to be working on next.

Severus said nothing for a few minutes before he looked at the book in Harry's hands. "You will take that with you Potter, and you will practice what I have taught you today, both the muggle and magical way until you can apply your make-up without hesitance, you will also work out what colours suit you best in advance of our next lesson. I also want you to read the next few chapters about hairstyles before our lesson next week."

Before Harry could say anything else he was being directed towards the door, book in hand and almost physically pushed through it as Snape closed the door behind him. He wondered what was eating the other man, but he didn't want to stay to find out, he supposed he would go home and work on what the other man wanted of him before his next lesson. Severus waited until he was positive that Potter was gone from his building before he broke down laughing, Harry's face when he realised that the spells hadn't worked as they should have had been hilarious, especially as he looked like a clown at the time. The only problem was that he couldn't share the memory with anyone else without exposing himself, something that he didn't want to do.


	5. A Lesson on Hair and Nails

Harry had spent the first few days after his lesson with Snape applying and removing his make-up over and over again, and finding different colour sets that would work with his colouring. He had finally settled on greens, greys, blues and purples as the main colours that would work for him, whether or not Snape agreed was another matter. By the end of the third day after his lesson he thought that he had really good control over both a make-up brush and the spells to apply make-up. He knew however that he was certainly not a professional, but that he could get by well enough, hopefully Snape would agree as he didn’t want to spend months on make-up alone. Although he wanted his lessons to last so that he could spend time with Snape he didn’t want to be stuck on something for a long time or he was sure that the other man would just cancel their lessons.

He then progressed on to reading the next few chapters in the book on hair care and hairstyles. The spells for different hairstyles were rather similar and he had started to practice several of them in advance of his lesson to get a feel for the spells so that he wasn’t a complete beginner when he got to Snape’s place. He had even gone online, Hermione had insisted he get a computer and the internet so that they could keep in touch that little bit easier, to find out how muggles did the same hairstyles and practiced a few the muggle way as well so that Severus couldn’t catch him out.

He spent the majority of the week trying not to think about Snape’s behaviour the previous week, had it really been necessary for the other man to run his fingers through his hair, or to rub his lip gloss in for him. He didn’t think that it was, but then again what did he know. He hoped in a way that it wasn’t necessary and the other man wanted to touch him, but he doubted that it was possible and that it was better not to think on it too much. Snape would never want him; then again Harry still didn’t know if he actually wanted Snape, the whole situation was rather confusing for him.

As he stood outside ‘Serena’s’ door he couldn’t help but wonder how the lesson would go today and whether or not Snape would be answering the door in racy negligee or whether he would be dressed this time. He knocked on the door waiting for a response, when he heard Snape call for him to enter he pushed open the door, taking a look around the living room for the other man, but he wasn’t there.

“In here.” Snape’s voice called from what Harry knew to be the bedroom. A bit apprehensively Harry stuck his head around the bedroom door, wondering if Snape actually wanted him to come in. The sight that greeted him was rather weird; Snape sat cross-legged on the bed in denim shorts and a pink t-shirt reading a magazine, and not Potions Monthly. Severus looked up at him as he stood in the doorway, shifting further up the bed and motioning for Harry to join him.

Nervously Harry made his way towards the bed, wondering exactly what it was that Snape was expecting of him in this lesson. He sat on the edge of the bed and then let out a squeak as Severus pulled him closer to him, so that he was sat between Severus’ spread legs. “What are we doing today?” Harry managed to spit out. He couldn’t believe he was sat like this with Severus Snape of all people, it seemed so unreal to him.

“Hair.” Severus replied, “I’ll do you, then we’ll swap and you’ll do mine.”

Harry nodded nervously, not daring to speak as those hands were once again in his hair, it was becoming a weekly occurrence Severus running his hands through his hair, and Harry couldn’t say that he was displeased by it. Severus styled Harry’s hair into a stylish bun, completely different from the strict tight bun that McGonagall wore on a daily basis. It was then Harry’s turn, they reversed their positions with minimal fuss and Harry’s hands went straight to Severus’ hair. He had been wondering about the other man’s hair ever since he had found out about Serena, Snape’s hair was lanky and greasy, but Serena’s looked soft and shiny. It appeared that it was Serena’s hair that the other man actually had, the greasy appearance must be a glamour as the hair in his hands was soft and silky. He did the exact same to the man’s hair as he had done to him, wanting to show Severus that he was perfectly capable of following directions.

He thought that Severus was impressed with him, the man certainly hadn’t made any comments about his technique anyway, and there had been no snarky digs at all. He sat back when he was finished with the other man’s hair, waiting for his next instructions. Severus’ voice washed over him minutes later, “Well done, Potter. Did you read the chapter?”

When Harry replied the affirmative Severus instructed him to show him how he would put his own hair up into a bun. He first undid the bun that Severus had put in his hair before redoing it for himself the muggle way. Before Severus could comment though he undid it, this time using the spell for such an occasion then magically styled his hair. Severus looked at the young man who was now sat opposite him on his bed, to say that he was surprised was an understatement. He had no real idea why the boy had wanted lessons, thinking at first it was just a joke to the teen, but the younger man seemed rather interested, even going as far as to research the muggle way to style hair.

“Not bad at all Harry.” Severus complimented, he didn’t know why he used the other’s given name, but he wasn’t going to question it. Instead he asked the younger man about the other tasks that he had set him. He had to agree with the colours that Harry had chosen for himself they were the ones that he had thought would look best on the other man. He then explained that since Harry had picked up on how to do hair a lot quicker than he would have thought they would move on to the next thing he had been planning to show him.

Grabbing his wand from his bedside table he pointed it at a box over the other side of the room, levitating it onto the bed between them. The box held some of his most amazing shades of nail varnish that he had ever owned, and while he was hesitant to let Harry anywhere near them they were the only ones that he kept at the flat, the others having been long since disposed of. He opened the box almost reverently, the box contained some rare magical polishes, and one was even made with phoenix ash as a component.

Severus looked at Harry who was staring hesitantly at the box, obviously worried about the contents and what the impact would be for him. “We’re going to work on our nails now.” Severus stated as he reached out and took Harry’s hand, “I see you took my advice about a hand cream.”

Harry nodded, trying to ignore the tingling in his hand as Severus ran his fingers over it. 

Severus chuckled inwardly as he noticed the small shiver that went through the younger man at his touch. He quickly inspected what the other man was wearing, deciding that parts of the outfit would have to go for what that he planned. He used his wand to remove Harry’s shoes and socks and to transfigure his trousers into a pair of shorts. The shock on Harry’s face was a great reward, so too was the sight of his almost bare legs. Severus had never thought that he may be attracted to the younger man, sure he was having fun teasing him, but that was nothing, just a bit of fun.

The younger man had been the bane of his existence for years, this was just a little bit of torture to get him back for all the pranks he had played on him at Hogwarts. At least that was what he was telling himself, it may have started out that way, but the more he spent time with Harry the more he began to like him. He had to admit though, even if it was just to himself that the more time he spent in Harry’s company the less annoying he seemed to find the man, and that the other man had amazing legs; he supposed it was the result of hours spent on a broom training hard for quiddich.

Severus mentally shook himself, pushing the thoughts of Harry’s long legs out of his mind, instead focusing on the task at hand, and feet as the case may be. “Manicures and pedicures,” Severus began, “you should never go out without one. Luckily there are spells that will do this for you and it isn’t really something that you need to know how to do. It is easy enough to fob people off that you have a manicurist that you never need to do your own nails as there is always someone who can do it for you.”

Severus checked with the other man that he understood what he was being told before he talked him through the spells that they would use on their nails, instructing Harry to use the spell on one nail at a time as it had better results than trying for them all at once, even if it did take longer. Once Harry had given himself his first manicure and pedicure Severus selected a nail varnish for him, one that would bring out his eyes, although he doubted the other man would wear it out of the flat. “Use your non-dominant hand to paint your dominant hand, the nails that is.” Severus instructed, taking a bottle of nail polish and showing Harry exactly what he meant.

Harry struggled with the painting of his nails, he didn’t use his left hand that often for any real tasks other than eating and gripping his broom. He did manage however, also managing to paint his cuticles and down the side of one finger. Severus vanished the excess nail varnish for him, then instructed him to put just a drop of nail polish on one of the nails on his other hand, and then to use his magic to spread it around the nail, without his wand.

Harry’s neck almost broke at the speed in which he turned to face Severus fully, how did the other man know that he had a firm grasp of wandless magic. He hadn’t told anyone, and he hadn’t felt the man in his mind. “How did you know?” Harry questioned, it was his biggest secret, these lessons and his obsession with Snape a close second.

“I didn’t.” Severus smirked, “but it was how I learned to control my wandless magic. Fine control work is one of the best things to learn how to do wandlessly. Instead of limiting the power to go through a wand, you limit the power to the exact amount you want and channel it directly.”

Nodding in agreement, Harry gave a sigh of relief that he hadn’t been so transparent that his abilities were noticeable to the world and its wife. He then began to do as Severus had instructed, finding that this was a much easier way than the first. They worked on different techniques and Severus showed him how to use the brush in different ways, taking hold of his hand and guiding him. He also explained that there were spells that could be put on the brushes that would stop them from being able to apply nail polish to anything that wasn’t nails.

When the lesson ended Harry was rather sad to leave, he had found that he had enjoyed himself thoroughly throughout the course of the day. He imagined that the lesson was rather like what girls did at sleepovers, and wondered what it would be like to go to an all girls sleepover, or a sleepover with Snape. It was at that moment he apparated into his flat, forgoing Sunday dinner at the Burrow, his thoughts instead directing him straight to the bathroom for a cold shower.


	6. A Lesson In Heels

Severus stared at the sheet music in front of him as he tried to play the piano, tried being the operative word. Harry, and he was Harry now, at least in his mind; he had tried referring to him as only Potter, but it didn’t seem to be working anymore, would be arriving soon. He knew what he had planned for today would test the younger man’s nerve and he would see how far the teen was willing to go with this. So far he hadn’t said anything, not about the make-up, hairstyling or nail painting. Wearing and walking in high heels may be a completely different matter entirely though, it was something that Harry may see as taking away the last vestiges of his masculinity. Many men partook of the different things Harry had so far, but none that Harry new personally with the exception of him had ever worn heels or women’s clothing.

He wondered if the other man would turn up this week, or if after last week he would be hiding like a frightened rabbit. He knew that several of the ways he had touched him had startled him a bit, and he was sure that the other man may have caught some of his less than innocent looks; at times he had certainly looked at the younger man lustfully. It was something about the other man’s legs, the long strong legs that he knew would feel just perfect wrapped around his waist. It was one of the reasons that he had decided on heels for this lesson, to properly judge posture and whether or not Harry was walking correctly in the heels he would need to see a large proportion of Harry’s legs. He realised that he hadn’t told Harry what it was that they would being doing this lesson and that the other man would be walking in blind.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door, knowing that it would be Harry, even if the knocker id hadn’t told him he called for the man to enter. When the door opened and his visitor walked in to say that he was shocked was an understatement. Standing in front of him was Harry Potter, that wasn’t too shocking he had been expecting him after all, the fact that the other man was wearing a dress on the other hand, well that was a whole different story. He knew that it was in a way what the lessons were leading to, but he hadn’t expected Harry to take that step on his own. He wondered if the shock he felt was anything like how Harry had felt when he had realised that his potions professor was a part time cross dresser.

“What are you wearing?” He questioned, it was a blue sundress and white open toed sandals, he could see that for himself, but he needed to hear Harry say it, almost as if to make everything seem that little bit more real.

“A dress.” Harry replied, “I saw it when I was out shopping with Hermione and I couldn’t resist. I told her I needed the bathroom and snuck back to buy it. What do you think? Does it suit me?”

Severus didn’t know what to say, the dress did suit Harry, in fact it was quite flattering, but did he really want to tell him that. He just nodded, his eyes focusing on Harry’s legs and the short hemline of the dress, before dropping quickly to the other’s feet when he felt Harry’s eyes on him. “Walk over there.” Severus demanded.

Harry looked at him a look of bemusement on his face, but he did as demanded walking to the other side of the room then following the instructions as they were called to him. “Face forward, straight back, walk in a straight line, stop shaking your hips.” Severus had plenty of little tips or demands for him, but he eventually stopped, retreating to his bedroom. He returned a few minutes later with various different pairs of shoes that he set in front of Harry. 

“They’re all different heights and styles.” Severus stated. “Today you are going to start to learn to walk in each pair as a woman would, not like a man or a man impersonating a woman, but walking as a woman.”

Harry stared at his teacher, of all things that he had ever thought that Severus Snape would teach him, this had definitely not been one of them. He supposed however that if he was going to learn this he may as well have a teacher he knew. He hadn’t known what he had been thinking when he had turned up in a dress, all he knew was that he wanted to get a reaction from Severus and he had certainly got that. The other man seemed shocked that he had gone off on his own and taken another step towards the heels and dresses of the future. He had been a little off balanced by the lack of knowledge about what he would be doing today and not having any time to prepare made him feel inadequate, especially as he would be unprepared for another lesson of Snape’s, so he had decided to shock him sideways instead.

He dutifully put on each pair of heels and walked about in them all for a while, at the same time working with Severus to make his voice seem a little more feminine. They tried many different things, making his voice husky for example, Severus demonstrated first, making it rather hard for Harry to concentrate on walking in the heels. A voice like that should be totally illegal, it was completely perfect in so many ways and was totally inappropriate for a teacher to have a voice like that. They spent a good few hours making Harry sound more feminine and it wasn’t too surprising that it wasn’t too hard for him, his voice had never really been that deep or masculine anyway.

They didn’t spend all day on the two different things, Severus had decided that since Harry had brought the schedule forward that little bit, that he maybe should as well. It was time to test out how Harry acted in public as a woman, and the best place to do that was in a clothes shop. He explained what they were going to do before he put all the shoes back in his wardrobe, grabbing a proper set of underwear for Harry. He knew that whatever the man had on would not be suitable, he certainly had no illusion of cleavage, and he was sure that Harry hadn’t thought about making sure that there were no signs that he was male. He handed Harry the underwear and instructed him to change, showing him where the bathroom was so that he could change in privacy. While he was in there Severus gathered a coat for him and one for Harry, getting ready so that as soon as Harry was ready they could leave.


	7. The First Test

Walking down the street dressed as a woman, walking next to Severus Snape who was also dressed as a woman was an experience that he had never thought he would have. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be either, they walked down the high street and in out of shops, trying on various articles of clothing, chatting as if they were the best of friends. They weren't of course, but it gave Harry a chance to get to know Serena a bit more, she was after all a large part of Severus' personality and a huge part of his life. If Harry ever did make up his mind about whether or not he wanted Snape he would have to accept and like Serena as well, as there was no way that the other man would give her up. And after his lessons with the other man he could see why he wouldn't, she was his escape, he could be himself as Serena as odd as that sounded it was true. As Serena Strahinski he wasn't a Death Eater, he was a cabaret singer, an entertainer, but definitely not a murderer. 

Harry began to think of himself in terms of his own alter ego that wasn't, he didn't really have a female alter ego, he was only in a dress as a woman to spend some time with Severus, or that was what he was telling himself at least. As he was dressed now he didn't have to worry about being Harry Potter Saviour of the Wizarding World, he was just a woman out shopping, and if people were staring at him it was certainly not because of his scar. If they were staring at anything he was sure it would be his legs, Severus at least seemed to like them; the other man hadn't been able to hide that from him despite his years of hiding behind masks, because Harry was looking for it. He was glad in a way to find out that this insane attraction wasn't just one-sided, because he knew now without a doubt that he was attracted to Snape, both as Serena and Severus, and that confused him all the more. 

He could admit to himself that he fancied Snape, it wasn't as big a stumbling block in his brain anymore, but he still didn't know if fancying Serena was part of fancying Snape or if he now liked women. Harry had never been this confused about his sexuality before in his life, he supposed that dressing up as a woman wasn't really helping, but in a way it did. When he was dressed like this it allowed him to shed all the preconceived notions that he Harry Potter had.

He was started out of his thoughts by the feel of Serena’s hand on his arm, Harry looked up at the woman next to him; even in the heels he was wearing Snape was still taller than him. Serena had a smile on her face, one that fitted there perfectly, she nudged him forward, nodding in the direction of a man sat at the bar of the pub they had walked into. “He is your test Hazel. Make him believe you are a woman. Go order us some drinks, I’ll be at that table there.”

Harry watched as Serena took a seat at a small table with a perfect view of the bar. He walked, just as Severus had taught him, up to the bar, completely ignoring the man he was now next to. He gave a small but feminine cough to get the barman’s attention, ordering two white wines when he eventually got to him. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out how to start a conversation with the other man, and to pass his test. He had learnt quite a few things about how to look like a woman, sound like one and walk like one, but he had yet to have any lessons that taught him how to act like one.

The barman placed his and Serena’s drinks on the bar before striking up a conversation with the man she was to fool. The man was rather into the conversation, his hands flailing about as he gestured about something, giving Harry the perfect idea. He picked up both glasses of wines and turned to walk over to the table where Serena sat, making sure that he was in the path of the man as he made his next gesture. 

His idea was spot on and as soon as he started to walk he found the man's hand hitting one of the glasses of wine, spilling it all over him. He let out a gasp of shock, exclaiming in the most feminine voice that he possessed that his dress was ruined. The barman and the man quickly realised what had happened, and the man started to apologise, insisting that she let him pay for their drinks. 

Harry looked up at him through his lashes, the man was attractive, but not overly so. He made a show of being unsure, protesting that he really needed to change out of the now ruined dress. 

"It isn't going to get any worse." The barman called to him as he set two new glasses of wine on the bar. "It's happened in here before love, it was only white wine. Leaving it a bit longer isn't going to hurt it." 

Harry deliberated for a moment, shooting Serena a quick look, the other man having come to join her when he had seen the commotion, it would seem odd otherwise.

Serena nodded to him imperceptivity, a look that Harry had recognised as one that the other man had used often in order meetings to agree with Dumbledore without speaking. Harry sighed, "I suppose." 

The man looked grateful, as if he had some guilt complex that wouldn't have been assuaged if Harry hadn't accepted the replacement drinks and had just left. "I'm Dave." He said, "and that's John." he nodded in the barman's direction. "What are your names?" 

Harry gathered himself for a moment before speaking. This was a test, he knew it, he knew Snape too well for it not to be. So far he had dressed and worn make-up like a woman, but that hadn't made him a woman as such. Men did those things. Now though he was introducing himself as a woman. "I'm Hazel, and this is my best friend Serena." He pulled Serena into his side in a way that he had seen Lavender and Parvati do all the time.

They spent a while chatting, just pleasantries really before the men decided that they wanted to know more. Harry couldn't believe how hard the test really was, and he had never really thought of what women had to go through when men hit on them. After all he had never been a woman before; he had also never tried to hit on one. Dave was a nice enough bloke, but it seemed weird that he was being chatted up by him. It was obvious that he had passed Serena's test though, the man definitely thought him a woman. 

Flirting and the like seemed like such a foreign concept in this situation, to Harry at least. Normally if he saw a bloke he wanted he would make him an offer he couldn't refuse. He never wasted time flirting, he preferred the more direct approach, and he thought that Snape would as well, but Serena seemed to be enjoying herself chatting pointlessly with the barman.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to stay there much longer and not expose himself as a means of getting the man to shut up with his stupid chat up lines Harry caught Serena's eye as they drained their third glasses of wine. Serena nodded to him and he let out a sigh of relief, which he quickly disguised as one of sorrow. "I'm afraid we have to leave boys. We still need to finish our shopping before we go to dinner tonight. We're expected soon by some friends from school." 

Disappointment crossed Dave's face; it was obvious to Harry that he was hoping to be able to spend the night with Hazel, something that would never happen. However he just nodded before grabbing a bar mat and scribbling his number down onto it. He kissed her cheek lightly, pressing the bar mat into her hand as he whispered in her ear to ‘call him sometime'.

Harry quickly removed himself from the bar stool, hoping to get out of the man's presence as soon as possible. The whole situation had seemed odd and too far removed from his normal social life for him to enjoy. He could see himself having enjoyed the situation if he had been there as a woman with Snape, or someone who knew he was a man dressed as a woman and didn't care, however he knew that Dave couldn't and wouldn't understand the situation. 

He took Serena's hand as soon as he stood, helping her from the stool, before linking their fingers as they walked away. He could feel Dave and John's eyes on them and decided to give them a show. He knew that Snape would kill him once they were back at his flat, but for now he decided to use the opportunity that had presented itself. He dropped the bar mat into a bin as the passed it, before reaching up to kiss Serena. 

He knew why he had done it, he really had wanted to kiss Severus for a while now, but he knew that he couldn't tell the other man that. At least in this situation he could explain that he was trying to let Dave down, he didn't want the other man to sit around and wait for a phone call that would never come. This way the man would know that there was no call coming and wouldn't feel bad for just having been dumped, or ignored, at least it wouldn’t feel like a slight on his masculinity. To Dave it would seem like had just lucked out, and spent over an hour chatting up a lesbian.

After what seemed like minutes, but in reality was only seconds, Serena pulled away from the kiss. The grip on Harry’s hand didn’t lessen though, and they continued towards the door as if nothing had happened, it seemed as though Snape, knowing Harry as well as he did, had understood the need for the show.

Once outside Serena let go of his hand as if he had been burnt or holding onto something toxic. “You passed.” Serena spoke softly, nothing like the angry voice of Severus Snape that Harry had expected. “See you next week.” With those words Serena strode off into a nearby alleyway to apparated, leaving Harry standing there outside the pub alone. He followed in the same direction a few seconds later, reaching the alleyway just in time to hear the soft pop that accompanied Severus’ disapparition. Harry sighed as he apparated home, he just hoped that he hadn’t ruined things completely with the other man, he had come to enjoy the other man’s company.


	8. A Lesson On Life

Severus hadn't expected that teaching Potter how to be a woman would be that much of an eye-opening experience, but that was just what it was turning into. He had never expected to like the younger man as a friend, let alone anything else, but the more time he spent with the impulsive Gryffindor the more time he wanted to spend with him. It was inconceivable to him, the other man was a brat in all senses of the world, he had been the bane of his existence for years, but now he wanted to get to know him. Severus was sure that it was just a misjudgement on his part, spurred on by the sight of the younger man’s legs, the skin perfectly smooth, they were temptation to Severus. 

He had come to admit if even to himself over the last few weeks that he was attracted to Harry. What had started as a game to tease the other man for his own amusement had turned back on him. He had liked the feel of the soft moist lips under his thumb as he had rubbed in Harry’s lip gloss, liked the hitch of Harry’s breath that it caused, he had liked it. He couldn’t deny it to himself anymore, although he certainly had tried. He Severus Snape was completely and utterly in lust with Harry Potter.

It was a revelation that had shocked him to the core, and one that he may not have come to for months if it hadn’t been for the younger man’s actions in that pub. Harry had kissed him, most likely to discourage the other man who had been trying to pick him up, horribly Severus must admit; the other man had a huge deficiency when it came to flirting. The fact of the matter was that while the kiss may have been for the muggle’s benefit, Severus had certainly benefitted from it as well. That kiss was one of the hottest that he had had in a long time.

As soon as he had left Harry he apparated straight back to his flat, sitting at his piano in almost a daze as he tried to puzzle out the kiss and what it meant. He was sure that for Harry that it nothing more than a way of letting the muggle down gently, but Severus found himself wishing that it was more than that. It was completely out of character for him, but he realised that he wanted Harry Potter. He realised and accepted the fact pretty quickly, he had never been someone big on self-denial, but working out what to do about it was another matter entirely.

As much as it may have appeared that the other man had wanted him as well Severus couldn’t just come out and speak to Potter about it. He was a Slytherin, he had more of a sense of self-preservation than that. He had thought about that kiss all week and pondered what exactly he should do when he saw Harry again. Thinking about all the possible outcomes that could occur as a result of the kiss had left him irritable all week and his classes had been used as outlet for his frustrations. In the end he had decided that he would not bring up the kiss at all unless the other man spoke of it first, and even then he would try not to invest himself too much in the conversation.

Harry was a Gryffindor, he knew that the other man would want to talk the whole situation out and explain himself, it was their nature. He just hoped that he would be able to accurately read the other man and what he was feeling, he had gotten much better at occlumency and closing off his emotions in the last few years. Severus sighed as the doorbell the doorbell rang; he supposed it was time to face the music.

Opening the door Severus was surprised not to see Harry, rather it was one of his neighbours returning a book he had leant them. He had taken the book before retreating back into the living room, he sat it down on the coffee table before returning to his spot at his piano. It had become a habit for him now, he would practice every Sunday while waiting for Harry to arrive, but today he just couldn’t seem to play.

Although he was nowhere near ready to admit it to himself he was nervous about what would happen when Harry finally arrived, mainly because he wasn’t able to accurately predict the outcome. He began to play a random tune, hoping that he could focus his mind on something else while he waited. He soon realised however as time started to pass that the other man was not going to turn up. He couldn’t help but wonder whether it was because he had realised what madness he was engaging in as a result of that kiss, or maybe he had realised exactly who he had been spending time with and decided that he should be doing anything but spending time with the bat of the dungeons. 

He wasn’t going to sit around and wait any longer though, if Harry no longer wanted the lessons that was fine with him, he didn’t need to be wasting his Sundays anyway. He grabbed his coat from the back of the door, locking it while he was there, before he apparated away. He apparated straight into his dressing room, dropped his coat over the back of his chair before making his way out into the bar. He would watch some of his girls perform before stealing his barman away for dinner.


	9. A Lesson On Liquor

Harry sat up with a groan, the smell of food hit his senses, confusing him as if he had been asleep who was cooking the food. Sitting up slowly he realised that he wasn’t in his own room, instead he was in a room covered in orange and posters of quiddich; Ron’s room. He didn’t know why he was in Ron’s room, but he figured that he could work it out later, especially as Mrs Weasley was calling up the stairs to him about breakfast. Harry groaned as he smelt the food when he entered the kitchen, it had smelt bad enough from the floor above, but now that he was in the same room as it he wanted to be sick. He knew that if he didn’t eat or spent the morning in the bathroom throwing up Molly would be on the floo to Madame Pomphrey straight away and he’s be ensconced in bed before he could protest.

“Sore head Harry, dear?” Molly asked as she placed a large fry up in front of him. “Eat up, it will help.”

Harry wanted to protest, but when Mrs Weasley glared at him he knew that he had no option. He began to pick at his breakfast and after a short while began to feel a bit better; he supposed that the greasy breakfast was soaking up some of the alcohol in his system. Feeling hungry now that he was no longer feeling so sick Harry dug ravenously into the remainder of his meal. When he finished his breakfast he realised that he was the only one sat at the table, although Molly was still in the kitchen at the stove. She took his plate, indicating that he should head into the garden with the others.

“Go on,” she insisted, “A hearty breakfast and some exercise, your hangover will be gone in no time.”

Harry wasn't convinced at first, but she was pushing him out the back door before he had a chance to protest. He really wasn't in the mood for quiddich, getting on a broom right now was bound to do nothing but make him sick. He wondered what it was that had possessed him to get so drunk. He didn't normally drink this much, and he normally had a hangover potion to hand if he did. Potion. That was it; that was why he had been drinking. Hogwarts’ Potions Master. He had been trying to excuse his behaviour to himself for almost the last week, puzzling out his actions. He knew that he was attracted to the man in some way and he was becoming to realise that it was more Severus than Serena, although he definitely had a kink for a well groomed woman if she were a man. Or at least he thought he did. He at least had a fetish for a well-groomed woman if that woman was actually Severus Snape. 

When Seamus had brought up the idea of another lads night out Harry had jumped at the chance to drink and forget about what he was going to do the next day. He had needed some dutch courage, and drinking with Seamus and the boys was exactly what he had needed. They had started their evening back at Cabaret Club, Seamus and Dean having become regulars there to see Serena's performance each week. Harry had sat in the booth with his friends and watch the object of his attractions sing on stage, performing his act perfectly. He watched as those lips sung out each word like a caress and he couldn't help but think about how soft those lips really were and how good they had felt pressed to his less than a week ago.

The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur to Harry, he remembered dragging everyone out of the club before Severus finished his set, he didn't want the other man to see him, at least not before he had had a bit more liquid courage. He wasn't a coward, he was a Gryffindor, but going up against the Head of Slytherin without any fortification wasn't something that Harry really wanted to do. At least if he had a lot of alcohol in his system he could blame everything on it if things went badly, or if they went really badly he would be half embalmed when the other man killed him.

Harry came out of his musings when he heard Ron calling out to him, asking how his head was before he threw another gnome over the garden wall, a degnoming, he supposed that there were worst forms of hangover exercise that he could be forced to endure. Or at least that was what he thought before he joined them. He had just picked up a gnome to toss and began to spin it around, realising that he had to spin as well, which really just aggravated his headache. He managed to get out of it easily, saying that making himself dizzy was making him sick, and that he should maybe just sit to the side for a bit an get some fresh air.

He sat on the wall, watching as Ron and the twins wrestled with the gnomes, occasionally ducking one that was flying through the air alarmingly close to his head. He couldn't help but smile at the glee on his friends faces and was surprised at how quickly time had passed, and how much better he was feeling after some fresh air. Molly was at the door, calling them in for lunch. 

Harry had already his excuses in mind for escaping after lunch and being absent for dinner. He intended to tell Molly that he had to go home and change and that he was meeting someone later that evening. What he wasn't expecting was to find a kitchen full of Weasleys. Although they all tried to attend Sunday dinner every week, there was never this many for lunch. Even with the way that the boys were able to eat two of Mrs Weasley's large Sunday meals in one day was too much for them after having spent time away from home.

Harry quickly pointed this out to Charlie who was sat next to him, quietly so as not to upset Mrs Weasley, and was surprised to hear guffaws from the twins. Charlie took pity on him, explaining that this wasn't lunch, but rather dinner, he told him how they had left him for breakfast and woke him after lunch, allowing him some more time to try and sleep off his hangover. Harry blanched as he realised that he had missed what he had been gearing himself up for. The others at the table seemed to realise that something was wrong with him when he suddenly went silent, and were asking him questions, but they didn't really register.

He was late, really late. He had wondered if Severus would still be willing to see him today after last week, it was something that had worried him all week. Now though he was sure that if the man had been expecting him that he would be thoroughly pissed off at having been stood up. Knowing that he was worrying his family he snapped out of it. “Sorry. I just, I thought it was earlier, I was meant to meet someone this afternoon.” Harry explained. “I really should go. I have to apologise,” He then muttered as he apparated away, “that is of course if he’s still speaking to me.” 

He apparated into his flat, shucking his clothes immediately, striding towards his shower at a furious pace. He had finally sorted everything in his head, and had sorted out how to go about talking to the other man, only to spend his time sitting on a wall watching Weasleys toss gnomes instead. Harry didn’t know who he was angrier at, himself for getting so drunk and sleeping away the morning or Ron for not mentioning to him that it was the afternoon.

After a quick shower Harry dressed in an outfit that could be classed as smart-casual, he didn’t want to be too optimistic. What he was wearing could be seen as casual wear so if Severus didn’t fancy getting dinner with him he could suggest a drink in a bar somewhere instead. Harry apparated to Serena's flat, knocking forcefully on the door, hoping that someone was at home. He really hoped that he hadn't screwed everything up more than he may have already done the week before. Even if Severus didn't return his feelings and wanted nothing to do with him romantically Harry hoped that they would at least be able to be friends. He realised that that was exactly what he had come to count the other man as. He stood outside the door for at least five minutes, but no-one came. He was about to sit down on the step and wait for the other man to come home when he realised that he still had the tracking charm on him and he could find him easily. He checked the charm, noting that Severus was at the club, and apparated once more. He supposed that he should have known that the other man would go to the club, it was probably his regular haunt at the weekends, a break away from Hogwarts and all the dunderheads that he had to teach.

Harry arrived at the club just as he felt the tracking charm alert him to a move in Severus’s location, the man was leaving the club. Harry disillusioned himself wandlessly and watched as Serena strode on out the club in a pair of stilettos, a short skirt and a halter neck, arm in arm with one of the barmen. Harry followed them discretely, making sure not to make any noise or do anything detectable, the man had been a spy and almost as paranoid as Moody, it would do to get caught stalking him.

“Come on then love, dinner it is.” The man spoke as he steered Severus towards a motorbike. Harry watched in shock as first the man and then Severus, short skirt and all climbed onto the bike. “There is someone I want you to meet, love.”

Harry stood there in shock as he watched the bike speed away to wherever they were going for dinner. Of all the ways he had expected today to go, this hadn’t been one of them. Severus was already seeing someone, there was no chance for Harry anyway. The other man obviously hadn’t been too upset by Harry having missed their lesson, it just meant that he had been able to spend more time with his lover. Dejected Harry headed home, hoping that he would be able forget all about the feelings that he was beginning to develop for Severus Snape.


	10. A Lesson On Miscommunication

Bill Weasley sighed as he swirled his drink round his glass, he really wished that he could do something to sort out the mess that had occurred, mainly because it was interfering with the time he could spend with his lover. Mark was forever out at his boss’s beck and call at the moment, something that was wearing thin with Bill. He didn’t mind the man spending time with his boss, they were friends after all, but he wished that it wasn’t on his days off. He could have gone with him, but despite the dinner that they had shared a month ago he had never spent time in a social setting with the other man, and he was quite unnerved by it.

He had known that something had been going on in his adopted brother’s life for a while now, the stuff with his hair was just the first clue. At first he had thought that he was trying to act his station in the Wizarding World and he had said as much when he spoke to him. Harry had had no idea what he had been talking about and Bill had explained a bit about Wizarding society and recommended a few books. Harry had shown from then on an improved knowledge of customs and social norms of the Wizarding world. Not just the men’s customs, but the women’s customs as well. It was something that Bill had taken note of. Harry was showing a great amount of knowledge about women for a gay man.

He had watched Harry carefully after that and as a result picked up on a lot of things his family would have missed. The nail polish for a start, he had dated Fleur for a while, he knew a French manicure when he saw one. He had even taking to trying to keep track of his movements, hoping that he could find out who it was that was encouraging him in this pursuit. Harry wouldn't have thought about lengthening his hair or trying nail polish himself, Harry had always been rather clueless about looks and beauty, it was one of his rather endearing qualities.

Bill knew that Harry had been disappearing somewhere every Sunday afternoon for a while and he had looked forward to finding out where he went. There would be no way that his mother would let him out of the house without finding out where he was going. Harry's shock and upset as he realised the time told Bill a lot; whoever he was meeting meant something to Harry, it was clear on his brother's face that he was falling for the man. Now with that knowledge Bill's mission changed, no longer was he trying to figure out what his baby brother was doing, but rather who he was doing it with and whether or not they were good enough for him. He used Harry's distracted state to place a tracking charm on him. He knew that his brother could remove it easily, but he hoped that he wouldn't notice it due to the rush he was in. 

He didn't leave straight away, not when the starter was his favourite soup, his mother's own recipe as well. He ate his starter before excusing himself, his family knew he was meeting someone for dinner that evening. Bill left the kitchen, applying a disillusionment charm to himself and apparating when the tracking charm indicated a location other than Harry's flat. He arrived in what appeared to be an expensive block of flats. Harry was stood outside a door, waiting for someone to answer. This must be where Harry's mysterious man lives, or where they meet, but he assumed like Harry appeared to that the guy had given up waiting.

While Bill was wondering about who lived behind that door Harry had apparated away again, this time to a familiar location. Bill didn't know what to do, he could follow Harry and run the risk of Mark seeing him, or leave it alone and hope that Harry was able to work things out with the other man and that he could meet the guy and assess and threaten him another time. Bill decided on the latter, he didn't want his lover to think that he was checking up on him at work. Instead he removed his charm before walking out of the building and placing a notice me not charm up so that he could unshrink the motorbike hidden in his pocket. He had to hide it, his mother gave him enough trouble as it was about his hair and his earing, he didn't need to give her anymore ammunition.

He felt the tracking charm change again as Harry arrived back home. Bill wondered if his quick arrival back home meant he had found the man had been looking for or not. The more Bill thought about it the more he realised that he really didn't want to know.

He pulled up in front of the restaurant just minutes before Mark arrived. His lover had come straight from work and as such was bedecked completely in black. Bill turned his eyes to the back of the bike, looking for the man that should be there. Mark had told him that it was time that he met his best friend and boss Sev. To say that he was surprised to see a tall black-haired woman get off the back of Mark's bike was an understatement. Mark didn't seem phased by his shock, he almost seemed to disregard it completely.

Mark smiled as he climbed off his bike, "Bill baby, this is Severus. Sev, this is Bill."

Bill was startled for several reasons, the first of which was that he hadn't expected his lover's male boss to turn up to dinner dressed as a woman, the second thing being that Severus wasn't a very common name, he only knew one Severus and he didn't think that there were that many out there. The way the man paled when he was introduced to him told him everything though, this was the Severus he knew.

The whole evening was a train wreck in a way, he had managed to squeak out ‘Professor’ in his shock on his way into the restaurant, the look he received in response confirmed Severus's identity without words. Dinner itself wasn't too bad, even though Mark had wanted to know everything about how they knew each other. Snape had seemed a bit down about something and not that he had found out his secret life, but Bill really didn't want to pry.

That evening was probably the weirdest one of his life and he'd played russian roulette with the goblins. After the meal Mark insisted on taking Severus home, even when the other man had said about taking a cab. Bill knew that he had probably been intending to apparate straight home, but Mark would not be disauded. Pulling up in front of Severus's building gave Bill pause, he had been there before, earlier that evening in fact.

Things started to fit together in Bills mind, but he wasn't sure what to do with the picture it was creating. As Severus's heels sounded on the front steps of the building he realised that this is what his baby brother had been learning. The hair, the mannerisms, hell the manicures, it all made sense now. Snape had been teaching him how be a woman, or dress and act like one at least. 

He had been wondering though if Snape was upset that Harry had missed meeting up with him, or if it was for some other reason. He was not going to allow anyone to hurt his baby brother's feelings, he'd been hurt enough over the years. If that meant he had to take on the potions master then so be it. 

It was now Samhain though and neither man had made any attempts to contact each other or sort things out. Mark had told him what had happened between Harry and Severus and how Severus didn't want to put himself out there for rejection. Bill didn't know what was holding Harry back, but he was just as depressed as Severus. The only time Harry really smiled at the moment was when he was in the club watching Severus sing. 

Harry had been turning up to the club each weekend to watch Severus perform before leaving straight away after a quick glance at the bar. Bill hadn’t mentioned it to either Mark or Severus and he definitely hadn’t said anything about it to Harry, but his little brother was beginning to worry him. To be honest he was beginning to worry the whole family, and his mother had even tried an intervention. It had been amusing to say the least. She had called the whole family together and had them all sit around the kitchen table, placing Harry at the head of the table. She had then told him that he had to tell them what was going on with him and how to fix it. When he wouldn’t talk she told him that if he was going to be a child and suck she would treat him like a child and ground him, in a literal sense. She had continued to berate him telling him that until he spoke to his family about what was bothering him he wasn’t allowed to fly. Harry had told her then that it was personal and that it was something he had to sort himself.

Bill came out of his thoughts as the band began to play, looking up at the stage to see Severus’s entrance. This was a performance he would never forget if what Mark had told him was truth. It had been Mark’s idea, and for some reason Severus had decided to go along with it. All the songs that night had something to do with Halloween or horror, and the song that Severus was singing was one Mark had picked but had said was totally appropriate.

Severus came onstage wearing a black leather miniskirt, thigh high leather boots and a blood red corset. Bill heard the gasps from several of the male patrons and smirked to himself, he knew that a large proportion of those men were completely straight, mainly from Mark’s gossip. He looked over to the corner that had become Harry’s usual spot and smiled at the transfixed look on his face, his baby brother certainly had it bad, he just wondered why he hadn’t done anything about it. When Severus reached the chorus Bill couldn’t help but chuckle when he belted out about being a sweet transvestite, Mark sure had a way of picking songs, he could just imagine what people would think in the Wizarding World if they saw that performance and knew that it was Snape.

As Severus sang through his set Bill made his way towards Harry, he was ending this tonight. Mark was his and he was sick of Severus dominating his lover’s time. Bill made a small production of bumping into Harry, making sure to ask what he was doing there, and asking if the boys were with him. When Harry admitted to being on his own Bill insisted that he join him for a few drinks, he was soon leading Harry towards the side of the club and the private room that had been set aside for Serena later that evening. It was becoming a habit, Bill would come to the bar each week to spend some time with Mark and then Mark and Severus would slope off to sit and talk and get drunk while Bill watched some of the other acts. He would then make sure that they both got home alright, but tonight would be different. He should only have to get Mark home that night if all went well, hopefully the job of sorting Snape out would be one that Harry took willingly.


	11. A Lesson On Truth

Harry glared around at the crowd, he hated the hustle and bustle of the Cabaret Club, but it was one of the best clubs meaning that that it was always full. Probably because of the main attraction Serena, especially as she only performed on a Saturday now. Harry couldn’t blame the other patrons for being there because of Serena, he was too. He’d been coming for weeks now, watching Severus perform was the only time that he got to see him now, so he intended to make the most of it. He always left as soon as Severus left the stage, knowing that the other man would soon be joining his lover behind the bar. It wasn’t something that Harry cared to watch, Severus with another man, it was too painful to think about let alone watch. 

When he had first gone into all this business with learning to act like a woman it was just to gauge his attraction really, whether or not he was now attracted to women, to men in drag, or to Snape in anything. It turned out to be the last one, but he’d come to find that he wasn’t just attracted to him. The man certainly attracted him, despite his acerbic personality, but Harry had somewhere along the line started to fall for him. It was probably incomprehensible to many, and to Harry that he had fallen for Severus Snape of all people in only four weeks but it was true. Some people fall for others at the first sight, so it can’t be too much of a stretch to fall in a month, even if the man is someone who had made your life hell for years.

Harry sighed taking another drink from his glass, he still had a while to wait before Serena took to the stage and the people around him were really beginning to annoy him. Some of them simply because they were there to ogle what he coveted. He never normally arrived as early as he had that night, but it was Samhain and he hadn’t wanted to spend the time at home wallowing in self-pity over everyone that he had lost.

He looked up towards the stage as Serena was announced, gasping in shock at what the man on the stage was wearing, he looked amazing. There was something about the other man, he just seemed to make all the outfits he’d worn look amazing, after all who else could get their robes to billow properly. Harry knew that many people had tried, the twins had spent months trying all different things, but no-one had been able to replicate how Severus moved in his clothes. The outfit he was wearing now though appealed to Harry immensely, he had always loved leather and the skirt and the boots were a wonderful combination. The red corset though, it screamed at him, it screamed of blood, sex, pride and love and there was nothing he could do about any of them, Severus wasn’t his.

The song he was singing was appropriate at least, and Harry felt him smile as Severus sang the lyrics. Or rather he was smiling until Serena reached the lines about making a man with blonde hair and a tan. He threw a rather disgusted look in the direction of the bar, the barman was smiling and laughing as he served, thoroughly enjoying Severus’s act. Harry let out an internal scream of frustration, before calming himself, it wouldn’t do to let his magic out of control, for one thing it would alert Severus to his presence and he was sure the man would be annoyed that he was still coming to the club to watch him.

He watched Severus perform his set, gathering himself getting ready to leave as the man hit the last note when someone bumped into him, not someone but Bill. Harry cried out internally, why did he have to meet Bill here of all places, couldn’t he have met him further down the road in another pub or club that he had gone onto to try and drown his sorrows. He put a fake smile on his face, he knew the other man wouldn’t buy it completely, but if he pretended to be a bit happier than he had been recently maybe the other man would accept his excuses to leave.

Then again, this was Bill, he really should have known better. He was soon being led to a private room, the other man explaining that he was here to see his boyfriend, and that since Harry was there he should meet him. That way, Bill had confided, Mark would at least have a friendly face to rely on when he was introduced to the rest of the family. When Bill mentioned that his lover was muggle Harry felt like he had to stay, there was no way that he wouldn’t feel guilty if the only familiar and friendly face in the sea of Weasleys was Bill, especially when Mr Weasley started asking questions.

Despite the way he had been feeling for the past couple of weeks he was actually relieved to have something to take his mind of Severus and the barman, whatever his name was. The fact that it was a favour of sorts for Bill made it a bit easier to stay in the bar, Bill was his brother in a way, and he knew that if anything went wrong the other man would have his back. His world was turned on its axis again however when the door opened and the blonde barman walked in followed by Severus.

Harry didn’t know what to think, especially as the barman was all over Bill within seconds of walking through the door. Severus was staring at them with a look of distaste on his face, but not anger or jealousy, something that confused Harry greatly. Harry sunk further down in his seat, hoping that Severus wouldn’t notice him, or this could get awkward rather quickly. His luck wasn’t holding out though, as the barman pulled away from Bill, speaking quietly, “Bill baby, who’s your friend?”

At that Severus’s eyes swung in his direction, realising for the first time that there was someone else in the room with them. Bill answered, “Mark this is my little adoptive brother Harry. Harry my boyfriend Mark, and you and Serena are both acquainted.”

Harry suddenly found himself going through the motions, the politeness beaten into him by the Dursley’s coming forward as he spoke with Mark, sharing pleasantries. He couldn’t believe how surreal the situation was, half an hour ago he had been cursing the man in his mind, and now he was almost welcoming him to the family. He supposed it was just another way in which his life would never be normal. Despite having stopped cursing Mark, he was pretty sure that the next time he saw Bill he would most definitely be cursing him. The man had smiled at them mentioning something about catching up, before he dragged Mark out of the room, leaving him alone with Severus.

Harry sat back down on the seat he’d been sat in thinking for a moment, after all this time he really didn’t know what to say to the other man. It hadn’t really been that long, only a couple of weeks, but it had seemed like an age. He knew that Severus wouldn’t speak first, it wasn’t his nature to volunteer anything first, so he decided he would have to be the one to extend the olive branch. “So, erm, how have you been?” he asked, stumbling over himself slightly, he didn’t know what it was about the other man but he had the ability to turn him into a bumbling schoolboy again without the aid of any of his potions.

“As eloquent as always, Potter.” Severus snarled without any malice, “I thought we were training you out of that.”

“I suppose.” Harry offered in response. He had expected the snarling to be genuine, but it didn’t seem heartfelt, something which gave him hope. The fact that Severus had alluded to the lessons made him think that the other man may not be adverse to starting them up once more. Despite what he had thought at first, Harry had really enjoyed learning what the other man had to teach. Severus hadn’t spoken or responded to his statement and Harry felt the need to fill the silence, he continued talking, hoping that his words would be accepted. “I’m sorry you know. For that day. I didn’t mean it.” 

He looked up at Severus, hoping to gauge his emotions, but the man was the Head of Slytherin and had been a spy for years. Harry had no chance of guessing or noting his emotions and instead carried on talking. “I didn’t mean to miss our lesson. I was hung over and I didn’t wake up till lunchtime, it didn’t help that I thought it was morning or that no-one told me otherwise. I even came by the flat later to apologise for being late, maybe see if you fancied getting something to eat instead, but you weren’t there.”

Harry watched and waited for Severus to respond and when he didn’t he quickly became frustrated. He knew that the man was one of a few words, but this was ridiculous. “Speak to me, dammit.” Harry blurted out before he realised what he had said. He didn’t regret it though, he couldn’t, he had to know what the other man was thinking. He needed to know, if the other man wanted nothing to do with him he had to tell him, he couldn’t keep wondering what was going through the other man’s head, especially now that he knew that he wasn’t dating Mark.

Severus chuckled a little, startling Harry, he certainly hadn’t expected that. “Impatient Gryffindor.” Severus began, “I was going to answer you. I accept your apology, you can’t be held completely accountable for your foolishness.”

Harry stared, “That’s it. No explanation. Why didn’t you contact me to find out where I was?”

Severus sighed, and Harry could tell from the pinched look on the other man’s face that he didn’t really want to discuss it. “I believed that you had given up on your lessons when you did not turn up, therefore I was not remiss to not contact you as there was nothing to contact you about.”

Harry wanted to scream, or bash his head against a wall, or something, but refrained. The man could be so infuriating, nothing to talk about or contact him about. Severus was obviously completely ignoring their kiss that they shared, or maybe he thought of it as nothing and it was therefore inconsequential to him. There was only one thing for it in his mind, he had to make Severus see what that kiss really meant to him, it wasn’t just about getting rid of that man in the pub to him, it was more. First though Harry had to get the man to take him back as his student, before he could attempt to work for more. “I was hoping,” he began, “that we could carry on with our lessons. I passed your first test, but I know that there is still more to learn.”  
Severus seemed to think about it for a while before replying, “That would be acceptable.”


	12. A Lesson On Consequences

Bill had been learning a lot recently, some of which he really didn’t think he wanted to learn. He had no wish to know what was happening between his baby brother and Snape, romantically at least. It had been a shock to learn that Snape was a cross dresser and that he was teaching Harry how to be one, but that wasn’t anything horrific. The thought of a relationship between them wasn’t exactly horrific either, regardless of what Ron would say or believe when he found out, however details of that relationship were.

One thing that he was coming to learn though, or rather relearn as a result of this whole fiasco, was that actions had consequences. He hadn’t really thought of the consequences when he had dragged Harry into that room then dragged Mark out, leaving his brother alone with Snape. Well not of the consequences for him, he had been a little worried at first that Severus may kill Harry, but then realised that he was being ridiculous. With the way Severus had been depressed he wouldn’t kill the reason for his depression if he could turn things around to better things for himself, he was a Slytherin for Merlin’s sake.

But Bill really hadn’t even considered that there might be consequences for himself, something that in hindsight he realised was stupid. There was no way that Harry would let him off easily for what he had done, and he was now beginning to feel the consequences. He had apparated into the living room that afternoon ready to sit down to his mother’s Sunday dinner, only to be hit with a hex almost as soon as he arrived.

“Ouch, what was that for?” He yelled, glaring at the twins who had their wands out.

The twins just looked bemused before speaking in tandem, “It wasn’t us brother dearest.”

Their statement immediately put him on edge, they were telling the truth, they hadn’t done it, but they knew who had. He gave a start as he realised who they were thinking of and he spun to see Harry behind him, his wand firmly in his hand and an evil grin on his face. “Hello Bill,” Harry began, “we have some unfinished business I believe.”

Bill gulped, the look on Harry’s face told him that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, he should have realised that he was taking on the son and pack of the Marauders. He tried not to shiver as he inclined his head to Harry, trying to shrug the whole situation off with a startled, “We do?”

He just hoped that he could distract Harry enough that he forgot what he was angry about, but it didn’t seem to be working. The rest of the family seemed to be sat around wondering what it was that he had done to upset Harry, but they all seemed unwilling to ask. Harry took a step towards him and Bill, without meaning to, stepped back away from him. He wasn’t afraid of his little brother, oh no, he was terrified. Not only was the heir to the greatest pranksters to ever walk through Hogwarts, but he was the financial backers of the second greatest pranksters, and he knew all about Mark, or rather knew of him and the fact that Bill was hiding him from his family, or more importantly his mother.

Harry could be very mean and out his relationship to his mother who would then insist on meeting Mark and planning his and Bill’s life down to the very last adopted child, all before he or Mark talked about moving in with each other. It would be a nightmare, and he could tell by the look on Harry’s face that the other man knew exactly what he was thinking. He really hoped that Harry wouldn’t take that route, but you never could tell which way his temper would go, if he would prove to be mean and vengeful or annoyed and mischievous. Bill was hoping for mischief, he at least had prior experience on a smaller scale; he had lived with Fred and George for years.

“How could you?” Harry stated calmly, something that terrified Bill. Harry was so calm, even though you could feel the anger hidden in his posture. “You just left me there, alone, with him.”

Bill noted the confused looks on his families’ faces but he wouldn’t be the one to explain to them, it wasn’t his business, if Harry wanted to tell them he would. He had to measure his answer, weighing up what to say so as not to let anything slip to his family that might annoy Harry even more. “It was necessary. You both needed to get over yourselves and sort things out.”

He winced as he realised what he had said and saw the unfriendly look on Harry’s face and rushed to explain, “I mean, you were both depressed, him when you didn’t turn up and you when you couldn’t find him at the club.”

Harry’s head shot up at that, and Bill wondered if it was because he hadn’t realised that Severus was just as depressed as he had been. It was then that his words registered in his brain and he hastened to explain. “I may have placed a tracking charm on you that night to find out where you were going, and followed you to his flat, but no further, I had somewhere to be.”

Bill strained his hearing to hear what Harry said in response, but it was nothing more than a mumble. He almost seemed ashamed or embarrassed about what he had said, something that concerned Bill. He shared a quick look with his mother who looked confused about the whole situation, but she soon took control and was ushering the rest of the family into the kitchen to help her finish dinner. A few people, Ron and the twins mainly, protested, wanting to know what was going on between him and Harry but a quick slap to the head had them following her every command.

Bill then made Harry sit in a chair before he himself sat down, realising at once the effect of the hex that he had thought to be a simple stinging hex. While it may have started with a stinging hex, it had systematically shrunk his clothing while he hadn’t been paying attention. He appealed to Harry’s better nature, asking him to remove the hex before his clothing crushed anything sensitive, before ploughing right back into their conversation where they had left off.

He was surprised to hear Harry say that he had found Severus at the club that night, especially as Bill knew he had gone home almost immediately. When he heard him say that he had seen Severus get onto the back of Mark’s bike and then drive off Bill immediately understood. Harry had thought that they were together and had been the noble Gryffindor and backed off, but couldn’t get rid of the need to see Severus, hence his weekly visits to the club. It made sense to Bill now, and the glares that his baby brother had thrown in the direction of the bar before leaving were now abundantly clear.

Bill wanted to laugh, but he knew that Harry wouldn’t appreciate it; instead he explained that Severus was having dinner with him and Mark, and told him how it was that he had worked out the connection between them. He was sure that it was something that had been bugging his little brother, how he had known when he had covered his tracks so well. He then offered an olive branch in the form of information; he told Harry what he had observed of Severus in the last few weeks and that night, and anything that Mark had told him that wasn’t told in confidence.

It had been an interesting conversation to say the least, one that the twins would have enjoyed immensely if their extendable ears had been able to hear through the wards that Bill had put up. Once they were done Harry seemed to be in a better mood and had made his way through to the kitchen to join the others for dinner. 

Bill let out a sigh of relief, while the consequences of what he had done could have been severe, he had at least stopped the worst of Harry's ire. He laughed at the look on the twins face as Harry told them that they would just have to get better to listen in on him. Bill could tell that the family wanted to know what they had spoken about, but if Harry wasn't going to tell them Bill certainly wouldn't. The twins spent the whole first course badgering Harry before their mother told them to quit it or she would invest in a permanent silencing charm for them. Bill chuckled with the rest of the family, he loved this mad bunch of people, now he just had to figure out how to introduce Mark to them.


	13. A Lesson On Creation

Harry stood outside the door to Serena’s flat, he hadn’t been here in a few weeks, he wondered if Severus had changed anything, before realising that the only thing that was bound to have changed was what novels were on the coffee table. It was now a week after they had spoken to each other at the club, Severus having had to go back to Hogwarts for the rest of the weekend. He wondered if the man was regretting restarting up their lessons, and fervently hoping that he wasn’t. Harry considered what he was intending to do as he knocked, and realised that he only had the one chance really. He couldn’t see Severus as the forgiving man who would give second or third chances, he was lucky that the man had agreed to continue teaching him.

He was feeling a bit better about taking the chance thanks to Bill anyway. Although he had hexed his meddling brother the man had also been a font of information. He hadn’t told him anything that would break a confidence, but he had told him that Severus had been just as depressed as he had. Harry took that to be a good thing, the man obviously felt something for him to have been upset about him not turning up. Harry was a bit annoyed at Severus that night for completely ignoring the elephant in the room that was the kiss they had shared, but after speaking to Bill he had understood. Severus didn’t want to be rejected, he wouldn’t place himself into the position where he could be knocked back.

It was up to Harry then to make the first move, and move he would. He had dressed in black skin-tight jeans with an emerald green shirt that was unbuttoned to halfway down his chest. He had topped the masculine outfit off with a very feminine pair of stiletto heels. Harry was hoping that the heels would earn him points with Severus, the man had certainly enjoyed watching him walk in heels before, or maybe that was his bare legs. He wondered if he maybe should have gone with the new skirt that he had bought after all. 

Before he could work himself into more of a panic the door opened. Severus stood in the doorway dressed in what looked to be a gothic approximation of a dress. It was a stunning sight to say the least and Harry wondered if the dress would billow in much the same way as Severus's robes did. The man moved to the side allowing Harry entrance to the flat. He was right, nothing had changed, everything was exactly the same minus the books. Harry was rather glad that he had been able to guess about the man were that was concerned at least, it gave him hope. 

Severus directed him to the couch and Harry wondered what the other man had in store for him today. He wanted Severus to realise that he was interested in what he was teaching him, that he wanted to be there and that he liked spending time with him. That was the first step in Harry’s plan, get Severus more comfortable around him, and then he would see about taking things further. Hopefully he would be able to get them back to the stage of casual touching soon, he missed the feel of Severus’s hands.

“So what are we doing today then?” Harry asked in an attempt to start a conversation, the silence between them having stretched on for minutes. 

Severus looked at him, "Today your not learning anything new as such. What we are doing today is learning who Hazel is, to act the part of someone or something you have to know ther part."

Harry listened as Severus went into detail about creating, acknowledging and accepting ones alter ego or a role you were playing. The speech was just as entrancing as the one in that very first potions class. There was just something about Severus and his voice that was mesmerising, he had the ability to ensnare the senses with his voice alone, he didn't need a potion for that. 

"So I need a backstory then?" Harry stated. 

"In the simplest terms yes, but it is a bit more than that. It's more a lifestory you need. You have to know Hazel inside out, everything there is to know you should know. Hazel is just as much a part of you as Harry is, she is just a different part." Severus stated. 

"My Slytherin side for instance?" Harry asked.

Severus was silent, considering what Harry had said before nodding, "If you had one that is."

Harry ignored the comment, knowing that the man had no idea what the hat had said to him in first year. Severus would have to see his Slytherin side first hand to believe it was there. He would see it though as Harry knew that if he planned to seduce the Head of Slytherin that that side of him would have to come out to play. 

They sat in Serena's living room for hours talking back and forth about their history, Hazel's and Serena's that was. Although Harry did manage to tease some information out of Severus about his past when trying to figure out the differences between Severus's history and Serena's made up past. 

The fact that Severus had grown up in the muggle world as well was something that Harry hadn't been aware of. He wondered if he could use that piece of information to his advantage. Maybe he could get the man to meet him in the muggle world, make it seem like a test for him, and surprise him with a date.


	14. A Lesson On Conversation

Having decided on a plan of action Harry had owled Severus midway through the week asking if they could meet a little earlier that week, maybe meet somewhere for lunch that he could test out what he had learnt. Severus had agreed and Harry had sent him the time and apparition coordinates, telling him to dress smart casual.

He then made reservations for one of his favourite muggle restaurants under the name of Hazel Jameson. Choosing what to wear was harder than he had thought, if he was going to dinner it would have been easier he had seen what was acceptable in the restaurant for dinner. He decided to go along with his advice to Severus and dress smart casual. He choose a Slytherin green blouse and a long black skirt and paired them with a pair of stiletto boots. 

As he stared at his closet choosing his outfit he realised how many items of female clothing he now had in his possession. He was just glad that his bedroom was completely warded and he was the only one able to get in there, he could just imagine the reaction of Hermione or one of the Weasleys finding the clothes. He hadn't intended to acquire so many clothes, the first outfit he had bought in an attempt to impress or off balance Severus. The ones after that though, they were more like retail therapy. The only time were he wasn't completely bummed about Severus was when he was shopping. At first it was just a few things that he had seen that he thought looked nice and might suit him. Then he went a bit mad with the shopping, when Severus had agreed to restart his lessons he had had the urge to go out and buy a couple of outfits that he hoped would help him to convince Severus that he wanted him. 

Harry arrived at the restaurant with five minutes to spare, he stood waiting in the side alley for Severus to appear and was shocked when he did. Severus was dressed in a short red sundress with black kitten heels, and he had tied his hair up into a bun rather reminiscent of Minerva McGonagall. The first thought that entered Harry’s head was whether or not the man was wearing underwear, and he realised that with the length of the dress all he would need to do would be look under the table once they were seated to find out.

Harry finally managed to snap himself out of the thoughts in his head, thinking that Severus might be in his mind. He knew that he wanted Severus to know that he wanted him but he didn't want the other man to find out by winding his way through his thoughts. There were many ways the man could find out without all Harry's fantasies being laid bare to the man's probing abilities. He greeted Severus with a smile before looping his arm through the other mans and walking towards the restaurant. He explained while they walked that it was an upscale restaurant that served good food and that he hoped Severus liked it. He realised almost immediately that he was babbling but he couldn't stop himself, for some reason he was extremely nervous. This wasn't a date, he had told himself that a thousand times already, but he was still hoping that it could be a date, or at least a prequel to a date. 

Severus just nodded along to his ramblings, but didn't actually comment. He did appear to know the restaurant though and smiled as they reached the doors, but Harry didn't ask about the man's previous encounters there. He was hoping that he had never been there on a date before. It may seem juvenile, but Harry didn't like the idea that his favourite restaurant was somewhere that Severus went on dates with other people. If Severus was going to go on dates with others, Harry didn't want it to be somewhere that he could easily run into them. His misunderstanding with Mark was bad enough, and that had all been a mistake, Harry dreaded to think what he would do or how he would feel if he saw Severus out on an actual date with someone other than him.

They had just entered the restaurant when the concierge was upon them, smiling politely in his usual way, then he actually looked at them. Harry could tell that he was surprised, but not by Harry, he hadn't recognised him, thank Merlin, but by Severus. "Miss Strahinski," He almost squeaked out, "I had no idea that you were coming in today. I, I'm not sure we have a free table, just let me check." 

He started looking around in a panic, and Harry could tell that Severus wanted to laugh or perhaps chuckle would be the better word to describe the outburst of mirth that would burst forth from him. “We already have reservations. I booked under the name Jameson.” Harry spoke up before the man rushed himself into an early grave trying to accommodate them. They were seated at their table quickly and their orders were taken, and only once the waiter had left did Harry feel comfortable enough to question Severus.

“Come here often?" Harry asked staring at the man sat opposite, resisting the urge to check under the table to find out whether or not the other man was wearing underwear. 

"No" Was the short reply, Harry looked at Severus again his eyebrow going up in question. There was no way that from Severus' own reaction to the place and the concierge's reaction to Severus that he didn't frequent the place. "I dine here regularly with some of the staff from the club. One should always keep their employees happy." 

Harry just stared at him for a moment before speaking, "But, you said you didn't come here often then you do." 

Severus just shook his head, “You asked if I come here often. I don't. You need to learn how to speak properly if you wish to continue with these lessons."

Harry stuttered, "I do speak properly. There is nothing wrong with the way that I speak." 

Severus just looked at him down his nose with one of his Professor Snape looks that said don't even think about lying to me or arguing I know better. "Your grammar is not perfect, but it is passable I suppose, but I meant that you need to learn how to speak properly as a woman. Woman and men speak differently, not wildly differently, but different enough that you will need to learn how to converse with others as a woman." 

Harry just stared at him, he wasn't sure what exactly Severus meant and he told the other man exactly that. 

Severus sighed before going on to explain. "Think about the differences between how your friend Weasley and his sister speak. They were both raised by the same people, but they speak differently."

Harry thought about what the other man was saying and was about to reply when the waiter brought their meals over. He smiled at them both before asking if there was anything else that they needed and Severus told him that his presence wasn't required anymore, sounding every bit like an upper class lady. Harry just stared in shock he wondered if that was exactly what Severus meant, the man instead of being insulted at being told to leave had been polite and courteous as if he had expected such a statement. Maybe the role that Severus was playing was one that required a different approach to his normal snarky wit. It was something that Harry hadn't considered before, he saw Severus in Serena, and didn't really pay that much attention to Serena's speech around others, as when it was just them, Serena always spoke to him as Severus. He spent another couple of minutes mulling everything over in his head; maybe he did need to learn this. He Harry Potter wasn't the most eloquent of people and he too was trying to fit into the shoes of a high class lady. 

He nodded his head and answered Severus when he asked for his thoughts. "Ron and Ginny aren't that different in their speech, despite their gender, mainly because Gin is a tomboy and was raised with six brothers, but there are subtle differences. I understand now what you mean; there are definite differences, even between what you just said and how you normally speak around me, or around Minerva and the rest of them. I can't believe how big that difference actually is though." Harry said as he tried to process everything. 

"Good" Severus replied, "You now understand that there are differences between your speech and a woman's, but what about speech between women. Surely you can recognise the differences in how different women speak and act. If you continue with this role you will be seen as someone from a higher class that is held to a higher standard and is more accountable for their actions. I suppose that you could do this without being seen at that level, but I refuse to allow you to drag me down to a lower level, so you will work at my level, or you will find yourself a new teacher for this.”

Harry nodded quickly, "That won't be necessary. I will learn all that you have to teach me." He couldn't let these lessons end, not now, not when he was finally coming to terms with what was happening in his life. He had come to find that he actually liked spending time with Severus, whether as Severus or Serena, it didn't matter which really, they were equally appealing to him. His crisis of sexuality was over however, he had finally figured it out, and he had been slowly coming to terms with it. His time apart from Severus had helped with that as well, he hadn't had any distraction from the man to stop him from figuring things out. He could now admit, to himself at least, that he was definitely attracted to Severus Snape, or even to Serena Strahinski. 

Women held no interest for him, however Severus Snape in women's clothing was something that he enjoyed thoroughly, in saying he was also enjoying wearing women’s clothing himself. He had taken to the lifestyle a lot easier than he had expected and he couldn't help but feel that it may become more of a common occurrence for him. At the moment he was only really dressing like this for his meetings with Severus and at times in the flat if he was practicing something.

However Harry had a feeling that if he could get away with going out into the wizarding world as Hazel that he would do it. While things weren't quite as bad now as they had been a year ago, the public were still something that Harry really didn't want to have to deal with. At least the mass letters that he received had stopped, there was only so many times that one could open a written marriage proposal without wanting to swear off marriage completely. The public still liked to approach him in the street if they saw him, and while less fervent than they had been previously they were still too persistent for his tastes.

They spent the rest of the meal talking and improving Harry's vocabulary and talking about several different subjects in different ways. First as they normally would as men, then as men in drag pretending to women, then using less exaggerated vocabulary and speaking about the topic as a woman would. Harry could say with certainty when he left the restaurant that he had enjoyed himself, although he couldn't predict whether or not Severus had or not. It wasn't a date exactly, but if it had been then he would have said that it had gone well. He would have certainly returned for a second date, and he hoped that Severus would as well. Not that it was a date, he had to work himself up to that, he couldn't just ask Severus out, the other man would find some creative way to torture him, he had to lead up to it first, make the other man want him so much that when he eventually asked him out the man would have no choice but to say yes to him.


	15. A Lesson On Relationships

Severus Snape sat staring out the window of Serena's flat, wondering how it had come to this, how his world had been turned upside down once more. He had often sat like this during the war taking time to reflect on everything that was going on in the world and his place in it. He was often perplexed then, trying to figure out what was going to happen, the information that he gained from both sides allowing him to see a bigger picture than some of the others that were embroiled in the conflict. The main part of that was Harry Potter and what he meant to both sides and the role that he would have in the final battle, if he made it that far. Severus had always been sceptical about whether or not that would happen, Potter did have spectacular luck, but Voldemort had really wanted him dead, and most people got dead when the Dark Lord wanted them to. 

Potter seemed to have managed to avoid that happening however and had come through the war with a lot less scars than the Dark Lord would have liked to have left on him. Severus had noticed that through the amount of time that he had spent with the young man, the war while it had forced him to grow up rather quickly hadn't seemed to have had many adverse affects on him, something that Severus was glad of. He really wouldn't have wanted Lily's child to be permanently scarred as a result of a war that had started long before his birth. He had promised his old friend that he would protect her child, and it was what he had done, even if it meant that he had put himself on the line a few times to do so. He now though had to figure out whether or not he should fulfil his own wishes for once and whether or not his wishes would contradict his vow to Lily.

Severus had come to realise over the time that he had spent with the brat, the name that had somehow become an affectionate pet name rather than an insult, that he actually liked him. As odd as that may seem, Severus had never expected to like Harry, he was Lily's child and he would have protected him because he was the son of his best friend, but he had always done that with a spark of hatred that he held for the boy’s father lingering there. James had never been good enough for Lily, and Severus had seen Harry as a carbon copy of a man who would never be good enough. The fact that his best friend, his sister, had given her life for the child had irked him; even though he knew that he too would do the same, not for the child, but for Lily. 

The simple fact of the matter though was that he was attracted to the stupid Gryffindor, and he had been really ever since he had seen the other mans legs, but what he didn't know was what he should do about that attraction. If he followed his own desires he would certainly take the other man to bed, but if he didn't form a relationship with him there was a chance that he was betraying Lily by hurting her son. His main problem was whether or not the relationship he wanted with Harry was out of a genuine wish for a relationship with him, or out of a lack of desire to betray his best friend even now long dead.

Severus sat there in silent contemplation until the doorbell rang, at which point he stood and made his way to the door. He knew who it was and Harry certainly could have let himself in, but for some reason Severus wanted to greet him at the door, to be the first thing that the other man saw. He didn't know what he was going to do, not yet anyway, but he knew that he would be changing their relationship that day in one way or another. He was made certain of that course of events when he saw exactly what the other man was wearing, a short skirt made of denim, and an even shorter top in Slytherin green that left his naval on show. A naval that the younger man had gotten pierced; a small diamond glistening back at him when his eyes strayed down the other man’s body.

Severus stepped back from the doorway inviting Harry in and gesturing towards the couch, the younger man complying with his nonverbal order almost instantaneously. The time that Harry had spent in his classroom had obviously taught him something, even if that something wasn't necessarily potions it was nice to know that he had learnt something from him. He closed the door before crossing the room and taking the seat next to Harry on the sofa, quickly outlining what he had planned to deal with in their lesson that day; the relationship between a Lady of high standing with those around her and the manner in which Harry should act depending on the audience.

He then went on to explain that he had changed his mind though and that the only relationship that they were discussing that day would be their own. He had made up his mind when he had opened the door and seen Harry standing there, he was going to risk it, he knew that it could all end in tears, and that it probably would, but he was sure that Lily would forgive him. As odd as it may seem that she could forgive for hurting her child, something that he was bound to do at some point, he was a rather abrasive person, she would be more inclined to forgive him if he had at least tried to make both her child and himself happy.

Regardless of everything else, of his secret identity, of Harry's budding new identity, of Hogwarts and the wizarding world, he was going for it. He saw the shock and surprise on Harry's face as he began to talk and couldn't help but smile to himself. He was sure that Harry was screaming inside his own head. He had known of the younger man's scheming and had taken the ball out of his court, something that was rather unlike him. Severus had always been a person to play with the card that had been dealt him, rather than taking what he wanted from others he was willing to let the dice fall all around him and then for him to pick up the pieces of his life from the carnage.

Severus had only ever really taken the reigns of his life in hand when it came to Serena and it was one aspect of his life in which he was happy. It was for that reason that he would not allow himself to be lead, he would be the one to make the first move, even if the very idea terrified him. He looked at the young man sitting next to him and let a small smile cross his face as he smiled along with what he was saying. Harry wasn't rejecting him, something that made relief flood through him. Even though he had been aware of Harry's attraction to him, he wasn't sure that Harry would want the same things of a relationship between them as he did.

A sense of calm and peace flew through him as Harry agreed to what he was proposing, only for it to give way to desire as he saw that Harry’s eyes were focused intently upon his lips. Giving into the desire that had been building within him for weeks Severus moved forward capturing the smaller man's lips with his own, kissing him savagely, allowing Harry to know exactly how he was making him feel in that moment. He knew that they still had a lot to work out between them, but he couldn't help but feel gratified that Harry had caught him in the club, and that he had been willing to look past the dresses he wore to learn more about the real Severus Snape.


	16. A Test Of Resolve

Harry smiled as he walked as Hazel down Diagon Alley, hand in hand with Severus Snape. It wasn't what he had expected to come of their lessons, not in the least, but he was grateful for what had happened between them. It had been a few months since that fateful day in Serena's flat, and they had been getting on well together, although no-one else was yet privy to their relationship. Harry did have a feeling that Mark and Bill had some idea though, if the sly looks he got from Mark were to say anything.

Although they hadn't told anyone, they weren't really hiding their relationship, at the moment though it was still new, and they were still learning more about each other. The fact that Severus spent the majority of his week at Hogwarts meant that they didn't have that much time together either, especially with Severus' responsibilities at the club. Harry had found himself at the club every Saturday, watching Severus before having a few drinks with him, Bill and Mark. Harry and Severus would then make a hasty retreat to spend the rest of the weekend together before Severus had to return to the school.

They had found however that they had yet to kill each other and that when it came down to it they were actually rather alike in some respects. That being said, compromises still had to be made in their relationship, just like in all relationships. However there was nothing that was really that off putting in those compromises, and they were certain things that were easy to work around. This trip was one such compromise. Harry had refused to go to Diagon Alley as himself, not because he didn't want to be seen with Severus, something that he had reassured the other man of, but because he wanted to be able to spend time with his lover without having to pander to the public or watch out for every member of the paparazzi. While there was still some of that, Severus too was a war hero; it was not as full on as it would have been if Severus Snape and Harry Potter were caught out taking a stroll.

This was the first time that he had venture into the wizarding world as Hazel and it was liberating, the feeling of being free from expectations was amazing. This must be what Severus felt like when he was Serena, the fact that the other man had led such a secret life for so long suddenly making sense. His resolve for what he was doing strengthened in that moment when he walked through the Leaky Cauldron and he was glanced at once before all eyes turned onto more interesting things to look at. He enjoyed being Hazel and he didn’t think he could give her up, and luckily for him he knew that being with Severus meant that he would never have to.

Spending the morning just wondering Diagon Alley was not something that Harry had done in a long time, and it was decided that they would spend the morning leisurely walking about, and after lunch that they would do their shopping. That changed however when they saw Bill sneaking about the alley on his own, heading towards one of the side alleys. Harry and Severus had looked at each other and had nodded in unison, being in complete agreement that they should check to see what their friend, and Severus was counting a Weasley as a friend, was up to. 

Following him down Merlinius Alley they watched as he ducked into a jewellers. They seemed to consider it for all of a minute before they also entered the shop, trying to act as inconspicuous as possible they headed straight to a cabinet of jewellery at the opposite side of the shop from Bill, listening unashamedly to Bill's conversation with the proprietor. It was a few minutes into the conversation that they realised exactly why the other man was there, he was shopping for a ring. They watched from the corner of their eyes and in one of the large mirrors strategically placed for customers to admire themselves and their jewellery as he looked at Several different rings, but it was obvious to anyone who was watching that he really had no clue what he was looking for.

After several minutes of watching him stare blankly at some of the rings it seemed that Severus lost his patience with the other man. He turned from where he and Harry had been standing and walked towards the eldest Weasley child. "I take it that is for Mark." He stated confidently, his tone informing the man that if it wasn't that he would be dealing with him. Despite his new friendship with the redhead, Mark had been Severus' friend for years, and he would protect him as he knew the man would him. 

Bill nodded hastily, not daring to get on Severus' bad side, before turning and taking note of the 'woman' hesitating in the corner. He then spoke to the jeweller, "If you could give us a few moments alone please, I would like to get an unbiased opinion please." The man left, obviously unhappy at the thought that his opinion didn't seem to be worth its weight in gold, and that the bat of Hogwarts dungeon seemed to be the opinion that his customer wanted. As soon as he had left the room Bill turned back towards Harry and let out a low whistle, "You make a good girl, bro." 

Harry, knowing that the game was up, just smiled. It didn't matter that much anyway, Bill hadn't said his name and the jeweller wouldn't know who he was, and he knew that Bill wouldn't spill his secrets, not after leaving him alone with Severus at least. Bill had gained a sense of self-preservation after that incident. Disregarding their plans for the rest of the afternoon the two men spent the rest of their day traipsing from jewellers to jewellers with Bill helping and offering advice until he found what he believed, and Severus agreed; to be the perfect ring for the blonde barman.

While it wasn't how he had planned to spend his day, Harry really couldn't complain, he was helping his brother with something that would make him happy. He could admit, despite the way he had gone about it, that Bill had helped him and Severus to get to where they were now. His brother had helped him, it was only fair that he get to return the favour. He just hoped that Mark said yes, he could just imagine the wedding now, with Mrs Weasley in full wedding mode. He wondered if he and Severus would go together to the wedding, or if Mark would ask Serena to stand up with him as his best and only woman as he often referred to Severus' alter ego. As the thought came to him he let out a laugh, he could just imagine Ron and the other boys' faces if that happened. He wondered if he could convince Severus to go with him to the wedding as Serena just to confuse the others. It bore thinking about at least, you never know what is going to happen, but Harry could honestly say that he was happy to meet whatever fate threw at him next with Severus at his side.


End file.
